NeuroInvesting: Build a New Investing Brain

CHAPTER 1

Money and Me

“What is your risk profile?”

My client tells me he has been asked this question so many times by investment advisers over the years that he is weary of being asked yet again. Sitting across him as his investment adviser (and being obliged to ask), I smile. I agree with him.

He tells me, “I just want to make money and obviously to lose as little as possible, and if at all possible, none.”

Again, I smile and nod. I completely understand what he is saying.

Ken is not alone. This is but one frustration we all struggle with. How do we achieve the goal of making as much as we can, while losing as little as possible?

The answer is not as difficult to know as it is hard to follow. It lies in understanding the core of this tension. Who is holding the bow? The knowledge of the core comes from being aware of and paying attention to the archer instead of the shots from the bow. It is found in the archer's tendencies, likely reactions, thought patterns, and the openness to tweak the details until the tension is kept taut, sharp, alert, and ready to pounce. That is the answer to this collective frustration.

Once we have insight into who is holding the bow and how and where to tweak to achieve the results we desire, then to invest is to be at ease, with both self and money. The struggle will no longer be about dollars and cents (nor risks), instead it will be of the tweaking of the self in order to be at ease.

My Money Personality

Each one of us is composed of a unique ...